Recommended - A *GOOD* hunting game!(Warning: There are reports of the game breaking for people when reaching the fourth map, and some of it breaking after 30 hours of play. The devs have apparently ignored these reports to work on DayZ or something. How this happens is apparently still unknown and no fix, even uninstalling and reinstalling, is available.)

It's amazing how good this is compared to other hunting games out there, especially the almost Call of Duty like previous instalments of Cabela's games. In this one, you don't get to run in shooting everything. Animals are skittish and will run if they sense danger. You will need to be stealthy, sneak up on your prey while paying attention to the wind and cover, and avoid rustling leaves or making sound. Once in position, you will often only get one shot as the animals don't stick around.

This game made me feel more like a sniper than Sniper Elite, with bonus points for making good, clean shots at vital organs that don't hurt the animal as much and a penalty for shooting the gut(An incredibly painful place to get shot and it can taint the meat), and a decently large area to hunt in. The game feels both big enough to make it feel like you're going places, and small and populated enough that you won't have to walk for hours just to get to the action.Once you take a shot, the bullet cam will show you exactly how it went and what you hit, allowing you to easily figure out what you did right and what you did wrong so you can learn from it.

Things it could do better?At this point, I'd actually be okay with an expansion or DLC for extra maps and animals, or just plain more guns to use. (Maybe gun rebalancing too, the bigger ones are almost all better)Maybe add the bullet cam for small critters.Perhaps allow climbing rocks for a vantage point(No climbing or jumping in the game)

Honestly, aside from the problems with crashing and then not being able to start it up again that some people have, it's pretty good. I'm still a bit surprised to say it, but here's a hunting game that's actually good and fun to play

To get into that further, ive played several Cabela Steam Games as well as "The Hunter", before i started to appreciate this one here.

Most Games in the Cabela Series look and play like complete Garbage and thats not a Secret."The big Game Hunter pro hunts" on the other Hand, is really a well made Game, not perfect either, but its far from the other Trash in the Series.

Compared to "The Hunter", the only disadvantage of this Game here is, that it has an older Graphics Engine and no Multiplayer Mode.

The Game starts weird with a Call of Duty-like Tutorial, and the first Ammunition type makes it hard to kill anything, but after that its a really entertaining and Time consuming Game.You got a Campain mode, which is not really demanding and rather short, you can walk around freely, on large Maps in different Regions, shoot on everything you like, or complete some Challenges for extra Cash to buy better Equipment.

You can kill every Animal you see, with different types of Rifles and Shotguns, different kinds of Bows, Ammunition and Arrows, you can buy additional Equipment like Scrent Masks, Animal Calls, and a variety of Binoculars.

You can also track down Animals, follow blood traces of injured Animals.

It matters where you hit the Animal! A Shot into the Brain, Neck or into the Spine mean instant Death and its easy to collect the Trophy, after a double Lung Shot the Animal will only walk a few Meters further...

A non lethal Shot into the leg, the Skin, the Skull or any other Bone wont kill at all or only after a long Time.So you have to aim carefully or you will find yourself walking for hundreds of Meters, following the blood traces of your Prey.

You also have to watch for the Wind direction. First it will affect your aiming, second the Animals can smell you and run away.

Be careful, some of the Animals, like the Wild Boar, the Moose, Black Bear or Grizzly can and will attack and kill you if you come to close!

Another neat Featue is the slow motion Bulletcam and the X-ray hit Cam, that some People might know from the "Sniper Elite" Franchise.

Last but not least, there are some Statistics, like a Global and Friend Leaderboard and the Trophy Room.

I just list the pros and contras here, for the lazy Readers:

+ First Person view ( i mention this as plus, because most of the other Cabela Games have a sluggish Third Person view.)+ Large and well designed, really detailed Maps in different environmental Regions like Forest, Swamp, Desert and Coast.+ Open World exploring+ Easy Controls + You can hunt and kill all the Animals in the Game like Black Bears, Grizzlies, Foxes, Coyotes, Rabbits, Moose, Roosevelt Elks, Whitetail Deer, Caribous, Blacktail Deer, Pronghorns, Mule deer and several types of Birds.+ Different Rifles and Bows to Unlock like 223 Bolt Action, 223 Semi Auto, 270 Bolt Action, 7mm Mag Bolt Action, 30-06 Semi Auto, 338 Mag Bolt Action, 12 Gauge Shotgun, Recurved Bow and Compound Bow. Also Different Types of Ammunition for each Rifle and Bow, different Gunsights.+ Realistic Animal and Gun Sounds, fantastic ambient sounds that really give you the feeling of being "In the Wild".+ Good Animations, nice looking Light effects and Waterreflections.+ Slow Motion Bullet and X-ray Camera+ Good Soundtrack+ You can Shoot from open Ground or use different kind of "Points of Interest", like Stands, Tree stands or Blinds.

- Sometimes it happens that the Animals get stuck between Rocks, Trees or just "freeze."- No Multiplayer- The Graphics Engine itself looks old, textures from Leaves, Rocks or Bushes look ugly when you get too close. - Short and boring Campain Mode, its more fun to just walk around freely. - This is more casual while "The Hunter" is more a Simulation.

All together Cabelas Big Game Hunter Pro hunts has a lot to offer for People who like Hunting Games and for me, personally, its currently the best Hunting Game on Steam.

As mentioned above, the only reasons to play "The Hunter" instead would be the better Graphics Engine and the Multiplayer option. For everyone who can live without that, Big Game Hunter Pro Hunts must be the first Choice, even if some of the reviews cast a bad Light on it.

I can only recommend this, even for the full price of 29,99.

PS: If you need to see a few impressions, take a look at my Screenshots here!

Having played Cabela's in the past this game was a giant leap forward in both gameplay and stunning graphics.If you've ever wanted to know what its like to track down game and understand the aspects of hunting this is as close as it gets to being there. Each of the 4 regions has its unique game and each animal its own characteristics.Has a option to restart a hunt at any time if the hunt has gone bad.Many weapons and optics to purchase with Gear Points earned from your hunting skills.Has an X-Ray and diagnostics bullet tracking that reminds me of Sniper Elilte V2 and 3.Each region also allows you to free hunt aside from its required hunts and optional side quests.Simpley put an outstanding game with 50-100 hours of gameplay .Bought it on sale at 75% off an outstanding deal.

Really I don't know why I'm still playing, between having to buy weapons I've already owned 4+ times to seeing my cousin/brother's game crashing all the time after 30hrs of gameplay. It is truly astounding how Steam hasn't pulled this game yet. The mechanics are fun, the gameplay isn't bad. The bugs this game has and the lack of support trying to fix them make this a "DO NOT BUY" for me. I knew I should've bought Sniper Elite 3 over this game. What a waste of money/time. 50Hrs in and I'm sick of having to re-buy weapons, calls, ammo, etc etc.

This game will crash about 2/3 through and can't restart. Why does STEAM still offer the game with this problem, I think it just comes down to the money. I'm not a big gamer, but I play to relax. They should refund the money or allow you a credit to your account. Don't buy this game until they fix the problem.

A lot of the Cabela's hunting games over the past few years were... well, crap. This one, on the other hand, is actually pretty well made and I am very much enjoying it. I paid 8$ and I think it's worth it!Good graphicsGood gunsGood mechanicsGood gameplay9/10, love it

First hunting game I have ever bought. I was on the fence because of some of these reviews, but honestly about 50 hours in, most achievements completed and the game is still working fine. So here we go.

Graphics

Good, not great. I run a pretty high end video card and some of the textures are blocky, shadows as well. The animal models and vegetation are quite good though. The animals movements and animations are realistic and deserve some credit.

Realism

Again good, not great. About 10 hours in I was standing in the middle of a field, no cover, no scent mask and a Blacktail walked right up to me. I shot it in the face at point blank range. The calls are a nice addition however not realistic in the sense that they always work. There seems to be a bug also that has animals freeze in the grazing posture and you can walk right up to them and shoot them. Haven't seen it alot but it has happened. Ballistics are realistic in terms of penetration, bullet drop, shot placement etc, however the game allows you to pinpoint where the bullet will hit by pressing a key.

Gearscore

This is the only hunting game I own, so I can't compare with others. But I thought this was a good addition that lets you work towards the gear you want/need. I found this part of the game enjoyable.

Overall

8/10. I like the game enough to recommend to other Steam users. I have had no technical issues with this game. However there is one thing that you should know. If your speakers/bluetooth devices are not plugged in (indicated in windows by the speaker near the time having a red circle with a white X) then the game will crash. Once you plug something in then it will work fine.

Great graphics, fun and visually appealing environments, good selection of equipment. Etc.. However, though bullets will sometimes IRL deflect off of bones it seems they emphasize it in this game and reality is it should have been named "Bone Deflection Simulator".

I usually play theHunter instead for a little more realism or old school Deer Hunter 2005. This is of course my opinion.. I still recommend the game due to the fact that they made a step forward in the right direction getting rid of that crappy arcadeish linear gameplay from previous installments of the series but again, when your trying to have a bit of relaxing fun and deal with the constant bullet deflection off a rib at 40 yards causing a minor flesh wound, well to say the least it can be pretty damn frustrating. Still it is a fun game and not a "bad buy".

Before some ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ desides to post whining about "he only has 20 hours gameplay" as of this review post, lets not forget that the game is available on other platforms. I also have it for 360 as my son and I both play some games on console together.